Cross Stitch
by hawkable
Summary: Tabris/Leliana drabble.


p style="margin: 0px; padding: 8px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #666666; line-height: 15px;"There were many things Tabris had hated about her life in the Alienage. The constant harassment of the guards, watered down ale, daily lectures from her Father, and the off putting stench of stagnant waste had been so frustrating she had threatened to run away at least once a day. Yet each night she sat far from the others in camp, twirling the wedding ring she'd strung upon a chain and missing each remembered detail more than the last./p  
p style="margin: 0px; padding: 8px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #666666; line-height: 15px;"At least being with Duncan had kept her mind off things. There had been an entire to world to take in as she and the Grey Warden rode towards Ostagar, and the bustle of the war camp had made it easy to push away the awful memories of the events surrounding her conscription./p  
p style="margin: 0px; padding: 8px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #666666; line-height: 15px;"Camped leagues from Lothering, however, she had nothing but silence and her own mind to consider. There were the treaties to review, but she had no hope of reading them without Morrigan's help and Alistair's only answer was repeating Redcliffe should be their first stop./p  
p style="margin: 0px; padding: 8px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #666666; line-height: 15px;""I… am sorry to interrupt your reflection, but I think this belongs to you…"/p  
p style="margin: 0px; padding: 8px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #666666; line-height: 15px;"Tabris glanced up at the soft Orlesian voice, surprised to see Leliana standing only a few feet from her and holding out a tunic. She narrowed her eyes slightly and nodded in greeting, still suspicious that a woman of the Chantry could move so silently or kill so effectively./p  
p style="margin: 0px; padding: 8px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #666666; line-height: 15px;"She studied the garment for a moment and shook her head, ready to turn away and dismiss the human woman's interruption. "No, it's not … Might be Morrigan's…" Though the small petal embroidered in near the repair was not something she could ever see the witch sporting./p  
p style="margin: 0px; padding: 8px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #666666; line-height: 15px;"Tabris em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"had /emthrown away a shirt shortly after leaving Lothering that she'd botched up trying to mend, but with all the bandits they came across it was easier to simply kill or run them off and find a new one./p  
p style="margin: 0px; padding: 8px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #666666; line-height: 15px;"Leliana smiled and pointed to the neck of the shirt. Sure enough, through squinting, Tabris could make out very fine stiches along a now less visible blinked and leaned closer, grudgingly impressed with the work./p  
p style="margin: 0px; padding: 8px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #666666; line-height: 15px;"In the Alienage, Shianni or her exasperated Father had always done the sewing. Too much wasted coin and ruined dresses had seen that she was at least spared from attending the weekly sewing circles the women of the Alienage liked to hold. But neither had done anything as flamboyant as embroidering a flower. Her initials were the only things she'd ever seen stitched on her clothing./p  
p style="margin: 0px; padding: 8px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #666666; line-height: 15px;""Looks almost brand new," she admitted, taking the garment. She ran her finger over the repaired section of cloth, choosing to ignore the rose petal next to the repair./p  
p style="margin: 0px; padding: 8px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #666666; line-height: 15px;"Leliana laughed, the sound irritatingly musical to the Warden's ears, and pushed back an errant strand of auburn hair from her eyes as she leaned down and pointed to the stitching. "I saw what you tried to do there, but you can't go at a tear like that without a plan." She tilted her head and smiled softly at Tabris before straightening. "And I thought…" Leliana hesitated, the fire almost making it seem as if a light blush were rising to her cheeks. "…you might like something pretty on your shirt."/p  
p style="margin: 0px; padding: 8px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #666666; line-height: 15px;"Tabris stared at the tunic for a moment, the flush that branched out from her nose to ears no trick of the light. "Amazing," she spat. "Is there nothing a human cannot do better than an elf?" She coffee and shook her head. "A decoration is just the thing to turn away Loghain's assassins and an Archdemon."/p  
p style="margin: 0px; padding: 8px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #666666; line-height: 15px;"The smile on Leliana's lips faded instantly, her brow furrowing at the reply. "I… that's not at all what I meant… I simply-"/p  
p style="margin: 0px; padding: 8px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #666666; line-height: 15px;""You simply what," Tabris interrupted, though her words began losing some of their edge as Leliana's lips dipped into a frown. "I didn't ask you to fix anything." She hesitated and nearly considered apologizing as the older woman began to toy with her own hands nervously. /p  
p style="margin: 0px; padding: 8px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #666666; line-height: 15px;"Tabris had never been particularly fond of the Chantry or its Sisters, but Leliana was peculiar for a Sister. Morrigan seemed to be the only person who could snap at the woman on a regular basis unrepentantly. /p  
p style="margin: 0px; padding: 8px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #666666; line-height: 15px;"The Warden sighed and set the shirt across her lap. "What did you want for doing this? I don't have any more of the bread we brought from Lothering."/p  
p style="margin: 0px; padding: 8px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #666666; line-height: 15px;""I don't want anything," Leliana replied with a shake of her head, looking slightly annoyed at the suggestion. "I just…" The annoyance flickered into defeat in the Sister's expression. "It doesn't matter. I won't be so presumptuous again."/p  
p style="margin: 0px; padding: 8px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #666666; line-height: 15px;"Tabris cleared her throat as the woman turned to leave and thumbed at the fabric of the shirt awkwardly. The flower petal really was ridiculous… "Never mind… It was… thoughtful. Thank you."/p  
p style="margin: 0px; padding: 8px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #666666; line-height: 15px;"Leliana paused and turned her head, smiling briefly over her shoulder at the Warden before heading back to the center of camp. "Of course," Tabris heard the Sister murmur, seemingly pleased by the poor excuse for an apology. /p  
p style="margin: 0px; padding: 8px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #666666; line-height: 15px;"Tabris felt her stomach dip slightly as she watched the Sister walk away, humming softly to herself. Over the past few weeks, such behavior had been further confirmation for her that the woman was insane, but at the moment… She stared after Leliana for some time, feeling confused and flustered, until the older woman reached her tent and glanced back./p  
p style="margin: 0px; padding: 8px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #666666; line-height: 15px;"The Warden's gaze snapped away instantly to stare more intensely than she ever had at the trees surrounding their camp. Tabris huffed and rubbed her thumb over the petal, silently vowing to never eat Alistair's cooking again lest it upset her stomach like this again./p 


End file.
